A Star Is Born in Ronda Rousey, Sayers Crushes Britt at Strikeforce Challengers

Strikeforce may have found their next star in the women’s division with Ronda Rousey, while Lumumba Sayers made quick work of Antwain Britt to cap off Strikeforce Challengers.

Lumumba Sayers vs. Antwain Britt

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Lumumba Sayers wasn’t successful in his first Strikeforce fight, but he certainly made the most of his second appearance. Sayers blasted Antwain Britt in just 28 seconds to win by knockout to finish the Strikeforce Challengers show from Las Vegas.

Britt came rushing out and looked for the takedown on Sayers, but he turned the move around and pushed Britt against the cage instead. Sayers then opened up a flurry on Britt, dropping his opponent once and then as he bounced up he crushed him with a right hand to the jaw.

Britt’s legs buckled under him and the referee swooped in to stop the fight. Sayers now moves to 5-2 overall, and picks up a quick knockout for his troubles on Friday night.

“Whatever they put in front of me, I’m going to handle it,” Sayers stated when asked what he wanted next in his Strikeforce career.

Ronda Rousey vs. Julia Budd

Ronda Rousey has made a lot of noise since transitioning into MMA after being an Olympic medalist in Judo, and she took another step forward with a devastating win over Julia Budd.

Rousey rushed in right away to get the clinch and tripped Budd to the ground. Like water, Rousey just fluidly moved into mount and went for the armbar.

Budd tried hard to roll every which way to get out, but Rousey wasn’t letting go until she got the tap or broke her opponent’s arm. Well, she did both.

Budd’s arm was clearly dislocated, popping out of joint, and she eventually tapped out to the submission. Rousey now moves to 4-0 with four first round submissions via armbar.

The former Olympian also didn’t mix words after the fight, going straight after the Strikeforce 135lb women’s champion, Miesha Tate.

“That’s still what I want to do. If Sarah Kaufman is next in line, please Strikeforce, let me get a crack at her first,” Rousey said with conviction. “I really want a title fight against Miesha Tate and I don’t want to take a risk on her losing.”

Adlan Amagov vs. Anthony Smith

Prior to his fight on Saturday night, Adlan Amagov’s lead trainer Mike Constantino from AMA Fight Club told MMAWeekly.com that his latest prodigy could be one of the best strikers he’s ever worked with. Amagov backed up his trainer’s words on Friday night.

Amagov actually took Smith down early in the fight, but after some stalling, the fighters were stood back up. Once they were back on the feet, Amagov and Smitih started swinging at each other with everything they had.

The only problem was Amagov was the one landing.

Amagov crushed Smith’s chin with a huge right hand, sending him crashing to the ground. Amagov followed up with a couple quick strikes as the referee rushed in for the save.

Trevor Smith vs. T.J. Cook

A brief striking exchange was all Trevor Smith and T.J. Cook saw on the feet, because shortly into the first round the fight hit the mat. Smith quickly moved to side control and took over from there putting on a ground clinic.

After looking for an armbar, Smith transitioned beautifully into a guillotine choke. Cook rolled and Smith landed mounted with the guillotine in tight. Cook had no choice but the tap, giving Smith the win, his fifth in a row.

Derek Brunson vs. Nate James

Looked at as one of the brightest prospects under the Strikeforce banner, Derek Brunson moved his record to a perfect 9-0 with a dominant performance over Nate James.

The former college wrestler from North Carolina took James to the mat at will, and if not for his relative inexperience, he may have been able to finish his opponent on the ground. Regardless, Brunson absolutely punished James, and at one point landed a quick and powerful suplex, slamming the American Kickboxing Academy middleweight to the ground.

In the third round, Brunson dropped James with a straight punch right to the mush, but couldn’t quite put together the right combination on the ground to finish the fight. Brunson swept the judges’ scorecards giving him his third win in as many tries since coming to Strikeforce.